MUSCAT, Oman – Believing that local companies can get involved in education and close the gap between the needs of industries and the skills of graduates, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IIEE) – Oman section gathered together administrators of universities and colleges as well as business executives and industry leaders on 1st December 2015 to discuss how “to scale-up and institutionalize” an industry-academe linkage.
This activity was co-organized by IEEE Oman with the Oman Society of Engineers (OSE) and the Military Technological College (MTC), who hosted and took the lead role in facilitating the preparations and organizations of the event. In general, the event seek to establish the foundation of an interactive forum between industry and academia through a more concrete approach in exchanging opinions, sharing ideas, discussing real world problems, and exploring ways to utilize the advantages of multidisciplinary engagement to enrich research, innovation and development (RID) in the Sultanate.
The one-day event was packed with series of presentations from the industry sector, poster presentation and interactive session with the representative from the academe. Experts from the Oman Drydock, Oman Railways, Oman Power and Water Procurement Company, Glass Point, and the Research Council clearly manifested the need for a greater and more appropriate industry involvement in the education system. Furthermore, they suggested that clearly defined human resource requirements in industry road maps, more one-to-one partnerships among colleges, universities and companies, more effective on-the-job training (OJT) and internship programs, collaboration on research innovation and the development of students’ general competencies are key to achieving global competitiveness.
The academe-industry day concluded with high hopes that partnership and the corresponding collaboration between the academe and industry can bring about the kind of education that will drive inclusive and sustainable growth and development in Oman.
By: Engr. Arnold N. Santos
Secretary, IEEE Oman